Newcomer finds her niche on ‘Girls’

Allison Williams, one-quarter of the coming-of-age female confederation in HBO’s “Girls,” finds herself at the center of a heated discussion, at least among the show’s modest but fervent audience: Is Marnie a bad friend? Or is Hannah a bad friend?

The culturally polarizing comedy spent much of its debut season redefining sexual parameters and narcissism for the millennial generation. But friendships are at the core of the Lena Dunham-created series, and they’re experiencing growing pains.

The on-the-surface unusual bond between Williams’ Marnie (the uptight friend) and Dunham’s Hannah (the carefree friend) no longer has the tape of college keeping their friendship together as they transition into the scarier world of adulthood.

And the troubled relationship, which produced a simmer-to-boil screamfest at the end of Season 1 over who was a bad friend, has been the driving undercurrent of the show’s sophomore term and the talk of the blogosphere.

The show, which wraps its second season March 17, has become a cultural touchstone whose every move has invoked passionate study from those who love it and even more from those who loathe it.

And its characters have secured their place in the “Which character are you?” query that was once a hallmark of the “Sex and the City” era — this despite an audience that hovers around 700,000 viewers.

Though the famous parents of the cast (Jemima Kirke’s dad Simon drummed for Bad Company; Zosia Mamet’s dad is playwright-director David Mamet) has spurred criticism of spoon-fed success, Williams can’t thank her dad for the gig. Instead, comic juggernaut Judd Apatow and his obsession with all things “Mad Men” merits the gratitude.

Williams had performed and recorded (in one take) a twist to the AMC drama’s instrumental theme song, set to the lyrics from “Nature Boy” and posted it online, complete with elbow-length gloves and a demure smile.

Apatow was responsible for one of the more than 906,000 views it has amassed since its October 2010 posting.

“I thought she would be the perfect counterpoint to Lena,” said Apatow, an executive producer on “Girls.” “A girl who seems to have it all figured out who is classically beautiful and wound a little tight.”

Dunham needed more persuading to cast Williams as the gallery girl with resolve. “I thought ‘gorgeous voice, great hair, what else is new in Hollywood,’” Dunham said via email. “I had to meet Allison to understand just how cheeky and intelligent that video really was.”

Now viewers are feeling strongly about Marnie. The first season painted a portrait of a type A know-it-all who gave the appearance that she had it all together; the one who schedules her friend’s abortion appointments. The one who has sex with her bra on.

That person completely unravels in the second season: She’s jobless, boyfriend-less and braless during sex. And not always a likable person, which Williams acknowledges.

Despite her parents’ news background — her mother is a television news producer — Williams never considered that as a career path.

“I was about 5 when I saw ‘The Wizard of Oz,’” she said. “I just thought it was so amazing that they all played two characters and I was like, ‘What kind of job is that?’ Once I realized it was acting, I knew I wanted to do it. I wanted to play a farmhand and a cowardly lion in the same movie. I wanted to play the wicked witch and a mean neighbor on a bike.”